Texas Makes Way for a Dance Icon: Twyla Tharp’s Diamond Jubilee Tours Four Cities This Fall

This is not Twyla Tharp’s first rodeo. The dance icon is returning to Texas for the Diamond Jubilee tour marking her 60th anniversary in dance. Promising a glittering showcase of her choreography and enduring artistry, the celebratory tour will see her boundary-pushing work performed in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The company’s return to the Lone Star State is simultaneously a sort of homecoming, a reunion of good friends and an opportunity to engage audiences with stellar dancing.

The first stop for Twyla Tharp Dance is on Sept. 20 at Winspear Opera House in Dallas presented by TITAS/Dance Unbound, followed by performances on Sept. 24 at San Antonio’s Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, on Sept. 26 at Bass Concert Hall in Austin presented by Texas Performing Arts, and on Sept. 28 at Wortham Theater Center presented by Performing Arts Houston.

Each performance will highlight Tharp’s transformative blend of classical ballet, jazz and modern dance and is a chance to experience the work of a pioneering American choreographer with a remarkable and enduring career that spans over five decades. The program includes Ocean’s Motion, a high-energy celebration of youth set to the music of Chuck Berry, as well as two world premieres: Brel, an introspective solo work inspired by the music of Jacques Brel, and The Ballet Master, a complex and technically precise piece that explores the creative process.

Ocean’s Motion made its Texas debut almost 50 years ago in 1975. According to Tharp, revisiting it provides an opportunity to see if the work “still speaks to the kid going into adulthood we all continue to conjure throughout our lifetimes” and if it’s a classic or relic of the ‘70s. “Texas, to my mind, is still a frontier valuing independence and straight shooting,” she continues. “So, it’s on you to answer: Did we get it right? Or, as Chuck Berry would say, does Beethoven still roll over and tell Tchaikovsky the news?”

The tour also reunites Tharp with Texas arts leaders Meg Booth, CEO of Performing Arts Houston, and Charles Santos, Executive Director of TITAS. “Megala and Santos have been in my dancing life long before they were Texan,” Tharp shares. “Meg survived a long road tour [as general manager of Tharp’s company] and listened along the way to drafts of my second book, The Creative Habit. Charles [at the time, the director/associate producer for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council] was with us Sept. 8, 2001, which was the Saturday evening we gave the last show ever presented between the Twin Towers.”

Tharp’s dancers are the embodiment of her artistic vision. “Dancers who interest me are grounded in both their techniques and their curiosity,” she says. “A sense of humor never hurts.”

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Miriam Gittens, Daisy Jacobson and Skye Mattox in Twyla Tharp’s Ocean’s Motion. Photo by Steven Pisano.

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Reed Tankersley and Jake Tribus in Twyla Tharp’s The Ballet Master.  Photo by Steven Pisano.

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Cassandra Trenary and John Selya in Twyla Tharp’s The Ballet Master.  Photo by Steven Pisano.

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Daniel Ulbright, Miriam Gittens, Daisy Jacobson, in Twyla Tharp’s The Ballet Master. Photo by Steven Pisano.

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Daisy Jacobson, Miriam Gittens, Jake Tribus, and Reed Tankersley in Twyla Tharp’s The Ballet Master. Photo by Steven Pisano.

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Jake Tribus, John Selya, Daisy Jacobson, Twyla Tharp, Reed Takersley and Kaitlyn Gilliland  Photo by Mark Seliger.

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New York City Ballet’s Daniel Ulbricht will perform Tharp’s Brel solo. “The challenge of this role is that the dancer must have a complete mastery of the classical ballet’s traditions and techniques while addressing the drama of Brel’s language,” she expresses.

Set to the contrasting music of Simeon ten Holt and Vivaldi, The Ballet Master juxtaposes musical atmospheres, dance genre and even wardrobe as dancers move from pointe shoes to sneakers in a joyful and layered composition. “Each work sets a clear and strict scene,” Tharp explains as she discusses her musical selection. “The ten Holt is a limited world of recycled chaos and Babel—great for accompanying frustration and depression—while the Vivaldi reaches to the heavens with passion and the spirited energy that can solve all problems.”

Beyond her groundbreaking choreography, Tharp is also a celebrated author. Her books, The Creative Habit and Keep it Moving, offer invaluable insights into her creative process and philosophy on life and aging. “I try to practice what I preach,” says Tharp, “which is essentially imagining change within a disciplined life.”

Since the founding of Twyla Tharp Dance in 1965, Tharp has created a vast and influential body of work. Her collaborations with prestigious companies such as American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, and the New York City Ballet have solidified her status as a global icon. Beyond the concert stage, Tharp’s impact extends to Broadway, where she choreographed hits like Movin’ Out, and film, with credits including Hair and Amadeus. Her contributions to dance have earned her numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, two Emmy Awards and Kennedy Center Honors. As she approaches her company’s 60th year, Tharp seeks to preserve the deep archive of her lifetime of work while remaining curious and dedicated to touring.

Tharp adds, “Live shows become ever more dear with each evolving day as AI and canned experiences loom. There is no substitution for the real deal.”

—NICHELLE SUZANNE